THE EVOLVING LAKE OKEECHOBEE WATERSHED RESTORATION PROJECT (LOWRP) AQUIFER AND STORAGE AND RECOVERY (ASR) WELL PROGRAM

With the potential to be the largest hydrologic restoration project in U.S. history, the South Florida Water Management District’s Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Program, may ultimately consist of 55 ASR wells with a total capacity of 275 million gallons per day (MGD). The ASR Program was implemented as part of the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project (LOWRP), which is part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) planning effort. ASR technology will be utilized to collect excess flows from the nearby surface water source during the wet season, treating the collected surface water to US EPA primary and secondary drinking water standards before storing in the aquifer via an ASR well. The treated surface water will then be stored until the dry season when it will be recovered back to the surface water systems. Thus, aiding to improve water levels and water quality in Lake Okeechobee.

In-depth feasibility studies have guided ASR well design, while 2,000-foot continuous wireline coring, as well as drilling, and testing activities during ASR well construction have expanded the understanding of the local hydrogeological framework of the Lake Okeechobee area. With each pilot hole, core hole, and aquifer performance test, data interpretations of site-specific geology and hydraulic data are applied to update cross-sections that can be correlated and compared to geologic models develop across the LOWRP ASR sites. Interpretations can then be applied to future ASR test well pair designs and incorporated into the local-scale groundwater models to aid in estimate storage zone geometry, and predict up-coning from underlying layers. As construction and testing of ASR well pairs progress; construction of a 10 MGD Demonstration Water Treatment Plant (WTP) will facilitate future cycle testing and will be expanded to a 50-MGD WTP. Once cycle testing is successfully completed, permitting for operation can begin and the ASR program can advance.